The way we view mistakes

SHARED FROM:

StarMetro, Wednesday, 23 October 2013

Sight & Sounds by Xandra Ooi

COMING BACK STRONGER

It doesn’t matter how many times you make mistakes in your life,

What matters is how you learn from it.

 

Mistakes are perfectly fine and, in many ways, beneficial, as long as we take note to not repeat the same mistakes.  The problem with mistakes isn’t the mistake itself, it is in the way we handle it immediately after.  Perfection isn’t something we seek, because there’s little growth nor innovation in never learning anything new.

The way we view mistakes has to be predetermined, before mistakes happen.  Our mindset governs the way we react to mistakes.  The other problem with mistakes is that it can be disastrous if there is no post mortem, reflection or an analyzation on how to avoid to making the same mistakes in the near future or ever again.

We all know not to cry over spilt milk yet perhaps it might not be so elementary when we see adults not handling spilt milk well.  Some would stand there and swear and curse.  Some would wring their hands in dismay and stare at the mess in distress.  Some would quickly clear up the mess and pour another glass of milk, all the while noting to be more mindful in the kitchen.

Mistakes aren’t pleasant when they happen and often inconvenience or affect other people as well.  But it’s important to acknowledge that nobody intentionally sets out to make a mistake.  So, it is highly unproductive to simply be furious at an employee for making a mistake in the workplace.  Yelling at someone does not make them reflect or analyse, it simple freezes the brain, leaving them unable to pick up the ball.

Brushing off a mistake is different from acknowledging it calmly with a solution at hand.  There is little or no excuse in making the same mistakes over and over again as it goes beyond carelessness.  No matter how bad we are at something, there is always something we can do to improve it.  Acknowledging our mistakes in the present and working on not making them again in the future is when we turn every mistake into an opportunity.